Sophomore hurdler cultivates passions for both art, athletics

It’s 5 a.m. and Kimani Austin-Reese is up and about making sure everything is in place for her school day at the Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami. It’s a daily ritual for the high school senior who travels across the city to attend classes early every weekday morning.

At 4 p.m., though, Austin-Reese will make the trek back to the other side of Miami for track practice at Miami Norland Senior High School, where she continues on her journey to become one of nation’s elite females hurdlers.

Now a sophomore on the UCLA track and field team, Austin-Reese still pursues both her passions – art and athletics – but now without the long car rides and constant travel. For the hurdler, her on-track interests are far from mutually exclusive from her extracurricular activities.

“I feel like in track you kind of visualize what you want to do, and you know how to get from point A to point B,” Austin-Reese said. “And I think when you’re in art, you’re looking at the canvas and you have a paintbrush in your hand – but you have to figure out how to get from here to there. You start with a goal, and you end up where you end up.”

She might be more than 2,000 miles from her home in South Florida, but Austin-Reese is no stranger to new environments. While currently undeclared, she plans to become an art history student. Austin-Reese had attended art and design magnet schools since the third grade, but it became a problem when the talented hurdler attended a school with virtually no athletic program.

While attending two schools at once wasn’t easy, she said that the early mornings and constant travel made her ready and willing to take on a lot of different challenges.

“(Design and Architecture Senior High School) was a really great place to be for four years,” Austin-Reese said. “It was really all about experimentation and finding new things within our age group, not just as artists but as people as well – just a different type of growth in that environment.”

With that environment surrounding her, Austin-Reese learned to express her thoughts on an array of topics, especially music. The hurdler’s favorite musician quickly became Taylor Swift, who she says had a large impact on her.

Swift happened to come across posts by Austin-Reese online and was inspired to reach out. She still owns the sketchbook Austin-Reese brought to their first meeting, once even posting one of the athlete’s drawings on Instagram.

Austin-Reese maintains what she calls a “casual” relationship with Swift – the two have met twice and the pop sensation frequently comments on Austin-Reese’s Instagram and Tumblr accounts.

Swift isn’t the only person with whom Austin-Reese has become close. Austin-Reese said she has formed solid relationships with various members of the track team, from her German roommate, sophomore sprinter Jessie Maduka, to sophomore sprinter Ashley Lewis, a fellow Floridian and one of Austin-Reese’s best friends. Similar to Swift, whose mantra is inclusion, Austin-Reese encourages those around her to be themselves.

“As a teammate, I’d say she knows how to bring out the best in another person,” Lewis said. “If somebody’s quiet, she knows how to bring out their silly and goofy side.”

While continuing to succeed on the track, Austin-Reese never let go of her other form of art. When she is not training or competing, she is often seen drawing on the track with chalk or sketching intricate flower designs in sprints and hurdles assistant coach Joanna Hayes’ time notebooks.

“She keeps me on my toes,” Hayes said. “I just got her back on the track from injury so our main focus for her is on the outdoor season, but, you know, Kimani doesn’t like to listen. She always wants to keep going harder and harder – she’s a very special individual.”

Last year, as a true freshman, the new Bruin participated in seven meets and a multitude of events for UCLA, from her specialty in the 400-meter hurdles to new events such as the 600-meter dash and the distance medley relay. She is currently chasing a bid to the NCAA Nationals in June in the 400-meter hurdles while simultaneously looking into internships at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum.

Regardless of her work ethic and ability on the track, the multi-talented student-athlete knows where her career aspirations lie.

“I really want to own my own art gallery and start a collection,” Austin-Reese said. “Building some sort of place where I can help the community I came from, but really to also help kids who don’t think they can be artists, because I truly believe everyone has an artist in them. It’s just maintaining that passion – something that never leaves you.”